YouTube is one of the easiest online platforms in which to participate. With the prevalence of smartphones, anyone can shoot a quick video and upload it to their YouTube channel. If all your videos are of your kids, and your audience is just family, you don’t need to worry about impact.

For the average business, however, a YouTube channel is a key portion of the marketing platform. Video continues to grow in importance, and having a direct line to your audience is a necessity it today’s multichannel world. But how do you know if your YouTube videos are hitting their intended target?

The following metrics are key indicators of whether your YouTube videos are successful:

  1. Subscribers — As simple as yesterday’s newspaper or magazine subscription, the number of people who intentionally take part in your channel is simple, valuable information. How many subscribers do you have? How many do your competitors have? When have you seen increases or decreases, and what caused those changes? Subscribers are a critical starting point.
  2. Time Watching — Sometimes referred to as watch time, this metric lets you know how engaging your content is to the viewer. Are they bailing after 10 seconds of a 60 second video? If so, something’s not connecting. Are visitors watching all the way to the end, and then watching again? That’s a strong indicator the video is connecting.
  3. Shareability — Is your YouTube video so incredible that viewers are telling their friends and colleagues? No secret sauce exists for going viral, but when videos are shared, more doors have the potential to open. Keeping track of Facebook posts, Tweets, and backlinks provides great success data. The comments offer another great look into your audience’s inclination to share.

Does your company have a YouTube channel? Are you keeping track of these key metrics? If so, how are you using that data to increase engagement? Contact us today to learn how we can help you optimize your YouTube channel.